Lapidarium: The Secret Lives of Stones

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Holbrook, D., 1994, Rochester Cathedral 1540-1983; A record of maintenance repair alteration restoration decoration furnishing and survey of the fabric. Archive report, Rochester Cathedral Library. Available at rochestercathedralresearchguild.org/ 1994-01. According to the Cambridge dictionary, a lapidary is “ someone whose job is cutting and polishing stones, especially precious stones “.

The plaster and stone statues once stood in gardens, squares and palaces belonging to the kings of Denmark. After the First World War, during which it was closed, the Lapidarium was in danger of losing its building. Finally, the building was reconstructed, the collections were reinstalled and in 1932, the space of Lapidarium could be opened to the public again. During the Second World War the collections were endangered by bombing raids on Prague, therefore they were taken to safer places. The largest objects were covered by sand. After the demanding restoration of the installation, the Lapidarium was ceremonially opened to the public for the third time, in 1954. In 1967, the building was due to serious disrepair closed again, namely for water leakage, and once more there was athreat of moving the collection. Eventually, in the years between 1987 and 1993, the building was reconstructed and the collection was installed again, so that it was ceremonially opened to the public for the fourth time, in 1993. It happened especially thanks to Dr. Lubomír Sršeň aJiří Fajt. The collection items in the Lapidarium come mostly from Prague and Central Bohemia. During the reconstructions of the individual buildings, and also the demolitions of entire city quarters, many valuable pieces were saved and passed to the National Museum. The museum, therefore, acquired the most extensive sets of stone carving works and sculptures between approximately 1890 and 1930, during the period of redevelopment of old Prague. The irreplaceable monuments come from demolished churches (the complex of St. Vitus Cathedral, Vyšehrad), aristocratic palaces and burgher’s houses, and also archaeological and building surveys. Due to modernization and transportation, monuments and fountains that stood in the way of traffic on new crossroads and tram lines (Krocín Fountain on the Old Town Square, the Monument to St. Wenceslaus with a fountain in the Horse Market Square, the Monument to Marshal Radetzky on Lesser Town Square) had to be removed, and they found a place in the museum. The memorials and monuments associated with the Habsburg Monarchy, which were either spontaneously or deliberately removed after the declaration of the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918, found asylum in the Lapidarium (the Marian column on the Old Town Square, the Memorial to Francis I). Many precious sculptures have entered the Lapidarium‘s collection in recent years, after the originals were replaced by copies (the sculptural decorations of the Old Town Bridge Tower and the Charles Bridge). Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special. Lapidarium is a German word for a collection of stonework and can include sculptures, tombstones and even milestones.Sculptural fragments revealed by excavations and works over the 19th century were the genesis of the Lapidarium collection today. Lapidárium so zvyškami zničených náhrobných kameňov zbývalého židovského cintorína v Liptovskom Hrádku, vytvorené roku 1995 vrámci projektu Mosty Gesharim [9] The Lapidarium is a lapidarium and a part of the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest permanent exhibition of historical collections of stone sculpture, tombs and architectonical fragments originating from Bohemia, mostly from Prague. V roce 1995 vmezinárodní soutěži bylo Lapidárium zařazeno mezi deset nejkrásnějších muzejních expozic vEvropě. Pavilon nazvaný Lapidárium na pražském Výstavišti postavil jako sezonní provizorium pražský architekt Antonín Wiehl pro Zemskou jubilejní výstavu 1891. Stavitelem novorenesanční budovy byl stavitel Quido Bělský. Ztehdejších exponátů zde zůstaly jen ty nejstarší - hliněné dlaždice zVyšehradu. Základ dnešního Lapidária byl shromážděn roku 1898 při významné Výstavě architektury ainženýrství. Pro tuto výstavu byl vbarokizujícím secesním stylu pavilon dostavěn apřestavěn architektem Antonínem Hrubým. Kexponátům této výstavy přibývaly další, zejména zdomů zbořených za asanace staré Prahy na přelomu století. Tak byla vroce 1905 otevřena pro veřejnost stálá expozice Lapidária. Zasloužil se oto především Jan Koula aVáclav Fabián. Součástí expozice byl tehdy iLangweilův model Prahy, který Národní muzeum později věnovalo městu.

Lapidarium comes from the Latin lapis, which means stone. But the word lapidarium doesn’t appear in many dictionaries. This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

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Arnold's catalogue of the stones, begun in 1992, records 252 stones including nine very large stones remaining around the Cathedral floor at that time, as well as smaller collections of tile, wood and assorted finds from 20th century excavations. This 1992 catalogue corresponds to Tipp-Ex markings on the stones and it is this numbering system which has been extended by this survey, although Tipp-Ex is no longer used!